Device for rapidly determining the fineness of fibers



May 8,1934. Y 'J HARDY 1,957,886

DEVICE FOR RAPIDLY DETERMINING THE FINENESS OF FIBERS Filed OGC. 29, 1952 Ilm( ATTUMEYS Patented May 8 1934 PATENT .OFFICE DEVEGE FOR EAPmLY DETERMHNMG THE FWENESS @F MERS .lohn ll. lillardy, Washington, lili. C., dedicated to the tree use of the Public Application 2 @Balma @woher 29', 1932, Seriali No. 64h22? (6CH. i3-5E) (Granted under the act ot March 3, 18%, as amended iprlll Sil., ll92d; 37@ (D). G1. 357) ries-s of vo land other iibers. .5 The meth ordinarily used in measuring the il chess of individual fibers involve the of microscopes and crorrietcr calipers. The op eration of such equipment is slow and expensive and not'adapted to wide application. One old method recently improved .involves the actual measuring ci the mean crosasecticrial area ot lo@ ihers. ln ariotherrnethod the iineriess is obtained by comparing the light deiraction values for wool with that ci fibers oi known fineness. Neither of these methods are suhjciently sinrcle in operation to them wide in their app ..cation. The nicer slot device is so simple arid eiticient irl its operation that it odors possibilities of being widely used. Those not expert 3@ in judging wool are afforded a ready means or' olotaining the degree of wool iirlehess. Those who have some `sloot/ledge ot judging wool will dnd it helpful in testing their judging ability and it is especially helpful as an aid to judgment in the selection of standard samples. The application of this device does not limit itself to wool alone for it is' a valuable aid in the determination or the mean diameter of other animal as well as marry vegetable and artidcial fibers.

My process consists of ascertaining the number of ilhers which will 4iill a previously determined space. l attain this object by the mechanical device illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure l is a side elevation of the entire device; Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof; Figure 3 is a detailed view o the knife attachment and Figure i is a detailed View of the knife adjustment mechanism.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the dlderent views.

The apparatus consists principally or four parts: a hand-operated knife and holder assembly l; a ber holder 2; an upright supporting post 3; and a base l The knife and holder assembly 1 consists of two plateslllls 1l held together at one end, hereinaiter referred to as the handle end, by a holt 5 and two taper pins 6, 6. In the other end are three holes 7f3, 9 arranged horizontally and cor= responding to the opening-or openings found in a safety razor blade. Between these two -plates at the handle end, is placed a thin piece of metal 32 which slightly separates the two plates,

leavinf7 space llor the insertion of a safety razor blade at the other end. Into this space a safety @.5 razor hlade l2 having three holes or a longitiru dirial slot, is placed. Through the hole nearest the handle end is inserted a snug-:fitting bolt 13. which holds the blade in position. rlhrough the holes in the other end oi the lsnie and holder assembly is inserted a loose-fitting bolt le, which also passes through the opposite end of the razor blade. Thispermits a slight up-and-down movenient ci' the blade at the end farthest from the handle (Figure Si). This motion is actuated by a holt lf having an eccentric bearing lo and a lrnurled head l?. This bolt passes through the center hole il. The lznurled head is graduated in halt rhin. (see 18, Figure 4) in order to make it possible to indicate the exact position of the lolade at any time. Both of the plates lll, ll E are cut away at the lower edge 19, exposing the razor blade for one and one-quarter inches of its length toward the handle end, tapering uniforrrily from two min. at the handle end to three mm. at the other end, providing space for manipulating the blade. it is necessarvthat the opening at the end of the greatest depth pro= vide a right angled shoulder. Beyond the cut away portion of -the holder one side has a ruler edge, graduated in half mm. units 20. This edge is tapered slightly from the opening to the end of the holder. The purpose of this graduation is to facilitate the setting of the blade. For example, if it is found from a preliminary cutting g5 that the blade 12 is set either too high or too low, that is to say, the blade is leaving an incorrect number of uncut lbers in the ber slot 2l to fill a given space, as hereinafter discussed, the degree of changeto be made in the position of the blade may be estimated closely by the graduations on the ruler edge. The entire knife and holder assembly, although shown in place in the cutting slot 27 of the ber holder 2, is a. separate unit and in no way attached to the fiber holder.

The fiber holder 2 is constructed of two plates 22, 23. A metal shim 24 is placed between these two plates at the lower end and they are bolted together with two bolts 25 25. This forms an slot vslightly deeper than the cutting depth of the razor when in operation.

The supporting post 3 is composed of a rod slotted at the top to permit attachment of the l ber holder 2 and threaded to the base t. rliwo, ten gram weights 28 28, a supply of thread 29 and ordinary adhesive tape 30 complete the equipment as shown in Figure 2.

To operate the device the ten gram weights are attached by means of adhesive tape and the thread to a lock of wool 31 or other fiber sufciently large to i'lll the iiber slot above the greatest depth reached by the razor bla/de. The lock is then placed in the ber slot 2l and is pulled gently by the fingers to the bottom of the 'ber slot, the weights hanging on either side of the device. The razor blade 12, previously adjusted to the desired position, is then inserted in the cutting slot 27 at the edge nearest the handle end. The knife and holder assembly is then held at right angle to the fiber holder and drawn gently through the cutting slot Aand across the bers throughout the exposed length of the blade. The purpose of this operation is to fill a specific space with bers in order that all bers in excess of those needed to ll the space will be cut by the knife. The knife is removed and the lock of wool or other ber withdrawn from the holder by grasping it close to the ber holder with the thumb and forenger of the right hand and with the other hand cutting the lock free from the opposite end. The cut fibers from that end of the lock are removed by the thumb and foreiinger of the left hand while the right hand still lrmly grasps the other end. Then the uncut bers are held iirmly by the thumb and foreflnger of the left hand and the process is repeated in freeing the other end from uncut fibers. The uncut bers still grasped between the thumb and forenger of the left hand are then counted by the use of tweezers. The operation is facilitated by the use of a black background. There is a direct correlation between the number of fibers occupying the slot and remaining uncut by this operation and the neness of the fiber. If too large a lock of wool is used its size may be reduce by making a preliminary cut.

rHaving fully disclosed by discovery I claim as my invention:

l. A device for use in determining the ineness of bers which comprises' a base, a post rigidly attached in a vertical position to said base, a member rigidly attached to and extending upwardly from the upper end of said post and having two vertical slots in the upper end thereof at right angles to each other, a knife holder, aknife associated with said holder and means to adjust said knife to permit its insertion in one of said slots to a predetermined depth.

2. In a device for use in the determination of the neness of fibers, a ber holder comprising a member having two vertical slots in the upper end thereof at right angles to each other, means to sustain said member in a working position, a knife and holder assembly and means to adjust the position of the knife in the holder to permit` 

